Chapter 6/Story
Synopsis After returning from Mt Gloom, Kagura's mental state did not look good. Perhaps her dreams are where the roots of this horror lie. Kagura's Dream Seimei questions Kagura if she is okay. She says she just had a recurring nightmare and told him not to worry, but much to Seimei and Kohaku's despair she immediately falls unconscious. Yaobikuni calms Kohaku stating that Kagura is only asleep but then notices how abnormal it is for Kagura to be weak and sick. Yaobikuni suggests that they should investigate her dream surprising Seimei with such ability. Hiromasa appears remarking on Yaobikuni's "strange" powers. He requests to tag along with the group. Kohaku is shocked by Seimei's approval. The five arrive in Kagura's dream. Kohaku comments that something was wrong. Then he spots a confused and unwell Kagura and cries for Seimei's help. A deep unpleasant voice attempts to draw Kagura toward it, then she wanders off desperately trying to escape. Hiromasa chases after her but Yaobikuni stops Seimei and Kohaku warning them about how unstable dreams are. As soon as she said that, the ground shook dangerously, and Seimei questioned if the dream will collapse. The Dream Nexus Kagura calls Seimei's name as he regains consciousness. Seimei complains that he has a headache and questions their location. Yaobikuni is just as confused but is certain that they are still in Kagura's dream. Seimei uses his Vision and Yaobikuni states that they could be in the "Dream Nexus." She explains that the dream nexus is the deepest level of a dream world and difficult to exit. Kagura explains to the concerned Seimei that in her dream she recalled a voice calling her from deep adding to her terror. Seimei promises he would protect her. Kohaku starts to discuss to whereabouts Hiromasa could be and Seimei assures him that "unfortunately" Hiromasa wasn't the type to easily die. Yaobikuni picks up Seimei's rudeness towards Hiromasa who quickly denies it. The company encounter Chocho, a butterfly yokai who resides in the dream nexus. She apparently guides the lost by playing her music. Yaobikuni asks if there was a way of out of the dream nexus and Chocho responds that there was no way out for the lost. Kyuumei Neko appears and instantly desires revenge on Seimei. She then disappears immediately after her defeat. Kagura believes she had just woken up. Chocho asks the four to listen to her music carefully and to make sure to not miss a single beat. A Recurring Dream The company return to Kagura's dream causing her to feel anxious once again. Chocho senses peculiar buzzing noise in Kagura's nightmare and locate it. Seimei calls out to Kagura's tormenter to show itself and the group are transported to Kodokushi's Lair. Kodokushi's Lair Kohaku complains about the bug eggs in the lair. The five go to investigate it and Yaobikuni explicitly explains to Kohaku that the bug that laid the eggs was of a spiders' disgusting Kagura. Seimei uses his yokai Vision and sees a Ghost who could never leave Kodokushi's lair. She seemingly lingered on the painful memory of being eaten by bugs and reassuring herself that it was just a dream. Kagura pitied it. Chocho explains that Kokokushi uses people's nightmares to lure them into his lair so that the bugs can feast on them. Kodokushi (a mage who breeds bugs to create poisons) suddenly appears in front of them and attempts to beckon Kagura toward him until he realises that they could see him. Seimei and Yaobikuni accuses Kodokushi for creating Kagura's nightmares. Kodokushi is devastated that he lured in an Onmyoji instead and traps everyone but Seimei and Chocho with a paralysis spell. Just in time, Hiromasa appears and hits Kodokushi with one of his arrows. He leaves the rest for Seimei to finish off. After the yokai was defeated, Hiromasa thanks Chocho as her drum noise guided him to the rest of the group. Seimei and Kagura also express their gratitude toward Hiromasa. He tells Kagura to call him by "Hiromasa" and states that "the most important thing is that you're not hurt" foreshadowing a mysterious history behind the two of them. Kagura picks up on this and suspiciously questions if they have met before but before he could continue his sentence, the group is interrupted by a stream of light that broke through the darkness. Chocho says that they are waking up and they depart. Her last words are "Do you dream of becoming a butterfly, or does a butterfly dream of becoming you?" The Waking World Kagura is glad her nightmares are over but Yaobikuni is still concerned about the place Kagura had dreamt of. Kagura agrees that it still needs to be investigated. Hiromasa then interrupts telling Seimei that he had made his decision to stay and help Seimei. Seimei accepts his offer saying that he owes Hiromasa. Hiromasa promises that he has confidence in his skill.